Eastern Pacific Ocean Purse-seine Fishery

This data set contains vessel logbook and landings data sets from U.S.A.-flagged purse-seine vessels fishing in the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPO). These purse seiners range in size from small coastal vessels to large offshore vessels. Historically, California-based large purse-seine vessels targeted tropical tunas in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), but these vessels have moved to the western-central Pacific Ocean (see WCPO Purse-seine Fishery) and only occasionally fish in the EPO. Smaller coastal purse-seine vessels target sardine, anchovy, mackerel, and other coastal pelagic species (CPS), but opportunistically fish for bluefin tuna when they are available in the California Bight. Logbook and landings data have been collected from 1952 - present by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC). Large purse-seine vessels carry biological observers to monitor interactions with dolphins as a requirement of the Marine Mammals Protection Act and other bycatch species. The IATTC manages the observer program, however historical NMFS observer data are managed by the SWFSC Protected Resources Division.